South African wine output is set to drop by 15% to 9.48 million hectoliters this year. This situation is due to drought that has been hitting the Western Cape, Bloomberg reports.

According to VinPro (an association of 2,500 wine producers), although this drop in production could raise wine price by 8-11% on the domestic market, the warm temperatures would help boost wine quality. Moreover, the drought-related weather helped cut pest damage.

“Greater variation between night and day temperatures during the ripening stage gave the color and flavor formation a further boost, which are indicative of remarkable quality wines,” the association indicated.

Let’s recall that South Africa is the world’s eighth-largest wine producer and its local wine industry generates nearly R36 billion ($2.9 billion) annually. 

Espoir Olodo